Q 2) For each of the passages that follow, determine whether fallacies are present and, if so, whether they fit the categories described in chapter 6.
i. NELLIE: I really don’t see anything special about Sunquist grapefruit. They taste the same as any other grapefruit to me.
NELLIE’S MOM: Hardly! Don’t forget that your Uncle Henry owns Sunquist. If everyone buys his fruit, you may inherit a lot of money some day! ( Rationalizing)
ii. The ancient Mayans believed in human sacrifice, and if that is what they believed, then that was right for them. Of course, I think human sacrifice is barbaric, but I’m not an ancient Mayan.
iii. There are very good reasons for the death penalty. First, it serves as a deterrent to those who would commit capital offenses. Second, it is just and fair punishment for the crime committed. Third, reliable opinion polls show that over 70 percent of all Americans favor it. If so many people favor it, it has to be right.
iv. Student to teacher: “I’ve had to miss several classes and some quizzes because of some personal matters back home. I know you have a no-make-up policy, but there was really no way I could avoid having to be out of town; it really was not my fault.”
v. Kibitzer, discussing the job Lamar Alexander did as secretary of education: “It was absolutely clear to me that Alexander was not going to do any good for American education. He was way too involved in money-making schemes to give any attention to the job we were paying him for. Do you know that back before he was appointed, he and his wife invested five thousand dollars in some stock deal, and four years later that stock was worth over eight hundred thousand dollars? Tell me there’s nothing fishy about a deal like that!”
Which of these fallacies are discussed in Chapter 6? Which fallacies do you think apply to these examples?
http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#H6